drought

Also drouth

[drout]

noun

1. a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops.

2. an extended shortage.

   a drought of good writing.

   Synonyms: famine, paucity, dearth, want, lack, scarcity

3. Archaic.,  thirst.

drought

/ draʊt /

noun

1. a prolonged period of scanty rainfall

2. a prolonged shortage

3. Archaic and Scot form: drouth. an archaic or dialect word for thirst

drought

1. A long period of abnormally low rainfall, lasting up to several years.

Pronunciation Note

Drought and drouth, nouns derived from the adjective dry plus a suffix, are spellings that represent two phonetic developments of the same Old English word, and are pronounced and respectively. The latter pronunciation, therefore, is not a mispronunciation of drought. The now unproductive suffix -th1 and its alternate form -t were formerly used to derive nouns from adjectives or verbs, resulting in such pairs as drouth — drought from dry and highth—height (the former now obsolete) from high. In American English, drought with the pronunciation is common everywhere in educated speech, and is the usual printed form.

Other Word Forms

• droughty adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of drought¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English drūgath, equivalent to drūg- (base of drȳge “dry”) + -ath noun suffix; cognate with Dutch droogte “dryness”; dry, -th ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of drought¹

Old English drūgoth; related to Dutch droogte; see _dry

Example Sentences

"This year was disastrous due to drought," said the 46-year-old farmer, reflecting on the land that cost him more to sow than it gave back.

From BBC

The country was devastated by Cyclone Freddy that killed hundreds of people in 2023, then a drought swept across southern Africa the following year.

From BBC

She and co-authors said several factors have led to higher water costs, including local decisions to upgrade aging water delivery systems and prepare for drought, and compliance with water quality rules.

From Los Angeles Times

Multiple water tankers have been filmed both day and night by local residents filling up from standpipes in part of neighbouring Hampshire where a drought order is in place.

From BBC

Both these seasons have also been very dry for many, especially for some regions of England and Wales, where hosepipe bans remain in force and drought has been officially declared.

From BBC

Related Words

• lack 
• scarcity 

When To Use

What does drought mean?

A drought is a long period with no rain or unusually low levels of rain or other precipitation.Because weather and climate are different in different places throughout the world, there is no single definition of what counts as a drought. However, it always refers to a significant period of dry weather. Droughts have many harmful effects, including water shortages, crop failure, and in some cases famine, among other things. The word is often used in the phrase drought conditions, referring to very dry conditions resulting from a lack of rainfall.Drought can also be used in a figurative way to refer to an extended shortage of or long period without something, as in The city has the longest championship drought in all of sports. Example: The drought continued for more than three weeks and wildfires started to appear.